Rubber stamping, paper and ink creativity straight from the heart of Montana

Big Sky Stampin' Papercrafting

I have been a crafter most of my life, starting in about 8th grade when I tried to embroider some frogs on a quilt, that I never finished! Although the list of what "I never finished" is long, and includes cross stitch, knitting, crocheting, quilting and more, my latest obsession is paper! I joined Stampin'Up! as an independent demonstrator in October 2011 and have been going like crazy ever since! I offer classes in my home, do catered card parties at your home and sell my cards locally in Bozeman, Montana and around the lovely Gallatin Valley. I would love to meet and talk to you if you are interested in the papercrafting hobby or just need some unique handmade cards for a special occasion!

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Hi there Stampers!
I love to take the TBT - Throw Back Thursday opportunity to revisit some old favorites with stamp sets, papers and embellishments. As excited as I am for new catalogs, I often feel like I barely got started with a former catalog and poof.... it's gone, all retired! Consequently, I have a pretty huge stash of paper, stamps and embellishments that didn't get enough lovin' from me. I sell cards at several retail locations in the Gallatin Valley and I am quite sure my customers could care less if something is technically "retired" so it's a great way to dive into that stash and find some goodies. I have been in sore need of wedding cards lately so here are some of the fun ones I tried. You will see a mix of old and new. If you have any questions about a particularly product, just ask. I won't bother to list them as the list is extensive and as I said, much of it is "retired." Enjoy the trip down memory lane!

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Hi Stampers!
How is your Wednesday going so far? Did you check out the Clearance Rack yesterday? There are some great deals on last year's products. You can access it through the "shop now" link on the right.

I'm excited to share a fun card today that features the Whole Lot of Lovely Designer Series Paper. Boy, is it pretty! It features hand-painted designs by a Stampin'Up! artist that are absolutely gorgeous. The paper is so pretty, it's hard to know what to do with it as you don't want to detract from it! Here's my card:

As you can see, I combined the "Lots of Love" stamp set with the "Beautiful Bouquet" stamp set to try to get the right flower arrangement. I think the most striking thing is the black background on the Designer Series Paper. It really makes the colors pop. Did you notice my embossed background? I used a new favorite folder, the "Layered Leaves" folder which is a dynamic texture embossing folder and gives a really nice embossing with varying layers of depth. This is a card where I wish my photographic skills and set up were more professional. The colors aren't quite perfect but I hope you get the idea! Photography for my Stampin'Up! business is on my list of things to do!

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions! I'm always ready to chat about crafting, haha!

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Hi there Stampin' friends!
I have a couple of things on my mind today! Daisies and Bobcats! I know, I know... weird combo, right? First about the Bobcats. It is time to buy football tickets for the season so of course that gets the Blue and Gold blood flowing. My husband and I are not alumni, but two of our kids are and we've been rooting for them for 30 years so we are almost diehard! Secondly, about the daisies. Stampin'Up!'s annual catalog features a wonderful suite called "Delightful Daisy" which has a wonderful new daisy punch. Apparently all of us like it a lot as they have had trouble keeping it in stock, but it is BACK and available again! The coordinating Designer Series Paper is gorgeous and features such a pretty navy blue and yellow combination. Now you see where I'm going with the Daisies and Bobcats, right? Here's my card:

So other than the color scheme, this card has nothing to do with football, Montana State or Bobcats. I don't know anyone that doesn't like the color combo of blue and white and when you add a pop of yellow, it is really pretty! These daisies are easy to stamp and punch out. Although I didn't, you can punch out 2 for each flower, creating a thicker petal look. They look great stamped or just cut out of paper without stamping. For you sharper eyes, that's some new ribbon tucked in the background too!
I hope you like my daisy card. It was fun to create and this will definitely go to someone who is a Bobcat fan. Just between you and me, we will see if they catch on!

Thanks for stopping by! Oh, BIG NEWS!!! The Clearance Rack has been updated and that means wonderful savings on all kinds of products! Check it out here:

Shop online your self or contact me and I'll submit an order for you... either way works great! I like to buy some of the less expensive products to give away as gifts to fellow stampers, customers and demonstrators on my team! We all love more supplies and what a fun way to share some love!

Monday, August 14, 2017

This is a welcome Monday in Montana. For the first time in weeks, we are getting some rain. Much of the state has been on fire for a month now and the rain is so very needed and welcome. It seems like October today and I know the sun and heat will be back but hopefully the smoke is gone!

Today I want to feature a fun suite in the Annual catalog called "Bundle of Love". There is paper, card packs, ribbons, an embossing folder and stamps. It is suitable for weddings or new babies! Here are a couple of samples I made while I was playing around with this suite:

The first card features Pool Party blues to set the tone. I used my new Marble background stamp and can't even believe how gorgeous that is. I also incorporated the "Moon Baby" set for both cards. The second card features the Bundle of Love embossing folder which has a heart shaped clear spot in the middle that lines up perfectly with the stamp set. It was fun to play with these new products and see what they can do! I also incorporated some retired ribbon, buttons and washi tape. I have been hoarding way too much of this for years now and you are going to see these items pop up some in my samples as a way to whittle down my supply!

My holiday catalogs have arrived! If you live outside Gallatin Valley and would like a copy of one, please contact me and I'll get one to you. If you are local, sign up for a class or contact me and stop by to pick one up! It's amazing and I can't wait to show you what I've been up to with our new holida products!

Friday, August 11, 2017

Hi Stampers!
I recently started a "Techniques Tuesday" class to explore different techniques with papercrafting. There are so many inventive ways to use ink, paper and other supplies that it is really fun to see what you can come up with! At our first class, we used the new embossing paste and coordinating products on a card: Here's the result:

We used the brick mask to create the pattern with the embossing paste. We then used the very edge of a dauber and some Cajun Craze ink to color the bricks. There are other ways to color the embossing paste, but this was easy and quick and you didn't have excess paste that is dyed a specific color that you don't need anymore. One more trick: We colored the plant and basket with markers before we stamped, allowing us to use 2 colors, which is always a great result!

Another project included a fun fold picture frame featuring the "Foil Frenzy" paper. This paper is thick and stiff and to work with it, you need to score well, use a bone folder and then secure the folds with tear tape! Here's the project:

By creating the folds on each side, it left some space for a picture to be inserted into the frame. The dimension for the front of the frame (Foil Frenzy paper) is 5" x 9". We scored at 1" and 1-1/2" on the left side, flipped the paper over and scored at 1" and 1-1/2" on the other side. The folds are a Z pattern, then adhered down with tear tape. The back of the frame is a 5" x 8" piece of white cardboard that comes in every pack of Designer Series Paper. I always save those as you never know when you might need one!

Our last project was the card featured on my blog yesterday, using the "Ribbons of Courage" bundle and spritzing Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper with reinker and alcohol in a spritzer.

I'm going to try and hold these classes monthly and would love to add an evening session if there is enough interest! It's fun to play around with different ideas. I promise you will learn something new!

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Hi Stampers!
I hope your week is sailing along in the right direction. I know August seems like it goes pretty fast, especially is upcoming school is a factor. This is the first year in about 30 years that it doesn't matter to me! Kinda a weird feeling, but also nice to not be locked into that schedule and have a little more freedom outside of the school calendar.

Today I want to share some projects from the "Ribbons of Courage" stamp set. I purposely bought this bundle to keep on hand for cards/projects when the traditional "get well" sentiment just isn't appropriate. I love the sentiments in the set, but also the ribbons. Here's my first card:

I wanted to use glimmer paper to have the ribbon stand out but I also wanted it to be pink, so I mixed about 8 drops of Powder pink reinker in an almost full spritzer tube of rubbing alcohol and spritzed the Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper before cutting. I used my heat tool to make sure the glimmer paper was fully dry before I die cut it. I also decided to cut an extra ribbon out of white card stock to shadow the pink glimmer one. I think this helps it stand out a little better. I was excited about how easy it is to color glimmer paper and get it just the right shade of pink!

Here are a couple other cards I tried with this wonderful set:

On the above one, I stamped with Smoky Slate on a piece of "Whole Lot of Lovely" Designer Series Paper with the ribbon image.

This card introduces a third color, Dapper Denim, and also features the "Bundle of Love" Designer Series Paper.

I understand that different colored ribbons are representative of different kinds of cancer or other meanings so this would really be a versatile set to work with to support any cause.

The best part of this set is that it reflects what rubber stamping has come to mean to me, which is reaching out to others and blessing them with thoughts, prayers and a hand made card. It's a simple pleasure in an era of complicated technology, geographic distances and hurried schedules.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what I'm up to today! I appreciate it and would love to chat if you have any questions about these projects or rubber stamping in general. I figure you can never have too many hand made cards in the world!

Monday, August 7, 2017

It's another week of summer that needs to be well spent! We are getting a reprieve from the smoke so spent some time 4-wheeling yesterday south of Big Sky Montana. It was absolutely spectacular and so fun to be out in God's magnificent creation. You are going to think I'm crazy, but I get a lot of inspiration from nature. Sometimes it is specific colors that I see which are also in Stampin'Up!'s palette like Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist, Calypso Coral and all the greens! I always make a mental note to remember that particularly color when I get back to the stamp room. Sometimes it is a particular scene that sparks my imagination and gets the wheels turning. I just never know when I will be hit by a good idea haha!

Today, the card I have for you was inspired by the Designer Series Paper I'm using, from the "Whole Lot of Lovely" pack. The papers that feature a black background are stunning and I knew I wanted to figure out something that used it. Here's my card:

I know many of you are curious about the creative process itself. I get lots of questions about "where do you start" with a project. My main two starting points are either a piece of Designer Series Paper that gives me my color scheme, OR a specific stamp set I want to use. Ideas pop in my head pretty quickly once I've chosen one of those two components. Sometimes I don't like what I make and most of the time, I do. Here's a look at where I started with this card... the Designer Series Paper, the stamp set and my card base.

I also had a technique in mind that I hadn't used for awhile.. sponging with dry wall tape as my mask. It works great and gives you a faint polka dot background.

I also wanted to use the "Oh So Eclectic" stamp set as it had recently come in the mail. This is going to be a favorite set to go back to, even though I already have a ton of floral stamps! You will see that my flower colors were determined by the Designer Series Paper colors of flowers.

I hope that helps a little with some sharing of my creative process. I know it's different for everyone, but this is the most often how it starts for me. Want some help? I'm always available to chat about papercrafting, Stampin'Up! products and more. Just contact me and I'll get right back to you!

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Hi stampin' friends!
I have something fun and new to show you today! I'm working my way through the new annual catalog and trying out some of the products that have been on my wish list. This particular stamp set and thinlit combo caught my eye because I always need birthday cards! It's called "Celebration Time".

There are a lot of cut out options for the framelits and the stamps nicely coordinate to use or not use! You can make cakes, tags, packages, etc. by mixing up the different pieces. Here's a closer look at the set so you can see the variety.

Just staring at this for a few minutes, I think I could come up with 10 different ideas in a matter of minutes. You can die cut only, stamp only or combine the two for so many different images and possibilities.Of course, there is also the option of using this for any occasion to celebrate, not just a birthday! I can see wedding cards with the fabulous cake images and even graduation, or a retirement party, etc. We love to celebrate and this bundle will inspire you!

On my two cards above, I also used some new products including the wooden plank embossing folder and some Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper. Don't be afraid to combine products from different suites when you are creating! That's a big part of the process, figuring out what goes together. Sometimes it isn't quite what you had in mind and other times you have a very happy surprise of creative genius. It's always fun to experiment.

Please contact me if you are interested in this set, receiving a catalog, talking about papercrafting in general or signing up as a demonstrator with Stampin'Up! I always have time to answer a question or provide some help and inspiration. With the Internet, we are all connected in a way that makes the distances between us shrink and somehow, some way, it feels like we are right next door chatting about a shared interest!

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Happy Wednesday Stampers!
I woke up in a melancholy mood today as I realized the whole month of August is ahead of us and there is no end in sight to the forest fires that are burning up our beloved Montana. All winter, most of us welcome the snow, the more the better, in hopes that it would produce really great spring runoff and give some much needed moisture to our parched land. There's always the threat of forest fires lurking for August, but this year, it started in July and is really roaring. Our skies are smoky and hazy and the sun is usually bright orange. It's hard to be motivated to be outside and hike, fish, boat, camp when the air is compromised and the views are almost gone. Our already "too short" summers are cut in half when this happens and this seems to be another one of those years right now.

So, what do you do when you have the doldrums? There are a lot of options, some better than others for your health and sanity. My craft room happens to be in my basement where it is still cool and I'm less aware of the smoke. That's where I go in the evening. I can take a break from what I'm seeing outside and focus on what I know to be true... Life is still a beautiful thing. Here's my card today:

This is a pretty simple card but the color scheme is what makes it shout. I used Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist and Night of Navy to make it pop. My stamp set/framelit combo is the "Colorful Seasons" set which is so popular! I think sometimes we need to be reminded that life has its own beauty in all seasons, even fire season. I know I needed that reminder today and I'm feeling better as I blog already. I also know that making a card won't solve most of life's problems but the process does bring some joy in the midst of "whatever".

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate you and your interest in my creations!
Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Hi there stampers!
It is August 1st today, a day I've had marked on my calendar all summer! Today starts the Christmas season at Stampin'Up! There is a new Holiday catalog for 2017 and it will be in your hands as soon as I can get them in mine! One of the perks of being a demonstrator is being able to preorder new product, see what's coming, take advantage of early release sets, etc.

There was a really amazing new bundle released to us in July and now, available to you! It's called "Carols of Christmas" and features some bold stamps and extremely creative and versatile framelits! I want to share a couple of cards I made, today, and then in the future will feature each card with all the details. Here they are:

As you can see, there is some wonderful creating going on here. My favorite is the first one because I love the sky, trees and deer. I plan to use this set for birthday cards and more and not just restrict it to Christmas season use. Are you curious about the set? Here's a closer look:

There are a lot of possibilities there! While the Holiday catalog products aren't available to purchase until September 1st, you can get a jump on Christmas with this bundle! Go to the "shop now" link and you'll see Carols of Christmas as one of the options on the left side bar menu on the store website. Watch for future blog posts too featuring this fun set!

Ah, August.... it's still summer, but oh so close to not being summer. There's still a lot of fun to be had and even some creating to be done. I've loaded up my class schedule too so check that out on my website as well. Crafting is a great idea all year, right?!!

Sarah Cade

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Click on the picture below (SU Website) and then click on "Join the Fun" and you are on your way to joining my stamping group, "Big Sky Stampers"!! You do not have to be in Bozeman or even Montana! You can be from anywhere in the US and just have the desire to start your own stampin' adventure with a fun group of gals. You'll have access to a members-only Facebook group and receive coaching, advice, inspiration and encouragement from me and the rest of the group. Contact me for the all the details! It will be one of your best decisions EVER!

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Sarah Cade : scade403@hotmail.com

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Custom Cards for Sale!

Just Birthdays : An assortment of 6 birthday cards for $20 plus $3 shipping. These will be chosen from my latest designs and include a variety of cards for family, friends, and kids.

Life's Events: An assortment of 6 cards for $20 plus $3 shipping. These will be chosen from my latest designs and are appropriate for new baby, wedding, graduation, sympathy, etc.

Holidays: An assortment of 6 cards for $20 plus $3 shipping. These will be chosen from my latest designs and will cover many major holidays of the year including Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Surprise Me: A collection of the latest, whatever the theme! Many of these will be all purpose friendship cards that can be given for a variety of reasons and occasions. Package of 6 cards for $20 plus $3 shipping.